Science/Nature

[ad_1] Image copyright Philippe Le Tellier Fifty years ago, the supertanker SS Torrey Canyon hit rocks off the coast of Cornwall, spilling more than 100,000 tonnes of crude oil into the English Channel. Beaches were left knee-deep in sludge and thousands of sea birds were killed in what remains the UK’s worst environmental accident. It […]

[ad_1] Image copyright Rick Carlson Image caption The rocks on the eastern shores of the Hudson Bay are among the oldest on Earth Scientists have tracked the “family history” of a rock back to some of the earliest times on Earth. Researchers analysed the concentration and distribution of particular types of atoms in the granite […]

[ad_1] Media captionMoment BBC crew caught in Etna eruption A BBC team and a number of tourists have suffered minor injuries after being caught up in an incident on the erupting volcano Mount Etna in Sicily. “Many injured – some head injuries, burns, cuts and bruises,” tweeted BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle. Lava flow mixed […]

[ad_1] Image copyright Tompkins Conservation Image caption The donated land will form part of a network of 17 national parks Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, the widow of US billionaire Doug Tompkins, is donating 408,000 hectares of land to Chile for national parks to be created. Doug Tompkins, one of the founders of the outdoor clothing brand […]

[ad_1] Image copyright Povl Abrahamsen/BAS Image caption Sent out from Southampton, Boaty was loaded on to the RRS James Clark Ross on Wednesday “Boaty McBoatface” has just been loaded aboard the UK’s polar ship, the RRS James Clark Ross. The yellow submarine is currently in Punta Arenas, Chile, and is due to sail for the […]

[ad_1] Image copyright NASA Image caption The aim was to sample emissions under real-world conditions Some close-quarter flying has provided new insights into aircraft pollution. US space agency-led scientists flew small, instrumented, chase planes directly in the exhaust plume of a big jet to measure the sorts of gases and particles being thrown out. The […]

[ad_1] Image copyright SPL Image caption Solar power station near Koblenz, Germany Germany will use its G20 Presidency to nudge world leaders towards a global price on carbon, according to its director general of energy policy. Thorsten Herdan told BBC News that the world can’t stabilise CO2 emissions without making polluters pay. Mr Herdan, of […]

[ad_1] Image copyright AP Hans Rosling, the Swedish professor who made global health statistics compelling viewing, died from cancer in February. Co-founder of Gapminder.org, which continues his work, he was enthusiastically trying to change old-fashioned notions of the world even as his illness took hold. In his final BBC interview – for the BBC World […]

[ad_1] Image copyright Mark R Smith This magnified image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid – which has a light organ on its backside that houses a colony of glowing bacteria – is one of the finalists in the 2017 Wellcome Image Awards. The squid – which measures only 1.5 cm across – provides food […]

[ad_1] Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Air pollution that lingered over eastern China in 2013 is being linked to changes in Arctic sea ice The air pollution that lingered over eastern China for nearly a month in 2013 has been linked to the loss of Arctic sea ice the previous autumn. A study says […]

[ad_1] Image copyright Claire Carvell Image caption The common carder bee foraging on red clover At this time of year, bumblebee queens are a familiar sight foraging on spring flowers. After spending the winter hibernating, they need to build up vital energy stores before laying their eggs. According to the largest study of its kind, […]

[ad_1] Image copyright Stay Raja Ampat Two weeks ago, a British-owned cruise ship accidentally ran aground in one of Indonesia’s most pristine coral reefs, causing extensive damage. For local people, who rely on dive tourism, it is a sad and worrying time. “I was born here, I was in tears when I saw this damage,” […]